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Title: Abkhaz
Series Title: Languages of the World/Materials 119
Publication Year: 2003
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA/
Availability: Available
Author: Viacheslav A. Chirikba, Leiden University
Paperback: ISBN: 3895861367, Pages: 92, Price: USD 40 / EUR 40 / GBP
27
Comment: Student/Course Discount: 40%
Abstract:
Abkhaz is one of the three languages comprising the Abkhazo-Adyghean,
or West Caucasian branch of North Caucasian linguistic family (the
other branch being Nakh-Daghestanian, or East Caucasian). Abkhaz is
spoken by approximately 100,000 people in the former Soviet Union
(mainly in the Republic of Abkhazia, Caucasus), and by at least the
same number of speakers in Turkey and some Middle east countries
(small Abkhaz colonies can be found also in Western Europe and the
USA). Abkhaz is notorious for its huge consonantal inventory (up to 67
consonants in the Bzyp dialect) and by its minimum vocalic system:
only 2 vowels.
Though Abkhaz was studied by a number of scholars (e.g. P. Uslar in
XIX century, or K. Lomtatidze in Georgia and G. Hewitt in Great
Britain), many aspects of Abkhaz grammar (especially its syntax) still
have to be adequately described. Abkhaz is the only West Caucasian
language to possess the category of grammatical classes, manifested in
personal pronouns, verb conjugation, numerals and in the category of
number. Abkhaz is an ergative language, the ergative construction
being represented not by case endings, as in related Circassian and
Ubykh (Abkhaz does not have a case system), but by the order of actant
markers. The verbal root consists usually of one consonant, preceded
by a string of prefixes (class-personal, directional, temporal,
negational, causatival, etc.) and followed by few suffixes. Verbs can
be stative or dynamic, finite or non-finite.
The grammatical sketch of Abkhaz includes information about its
phonological system, morphology, and syntax. A short text is provided
with grammatical comments.
Lingfield(s): Language Description
Subject Language(s): Abkhaz (Language Code: ABK)
Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)
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